FAQ: Good Battery Replacement?

I gotta say my duralast battery from autozone is a great battery replacement for the price. I believe I paid 130, has 880CCA, and plenty of reserve to run my aftermarket stereo system for a good 30 minutes easily (haven't tried any longer).

I was going to go for a yellowtop but they don't make one specifically for the Riv and I really didn't feel like making something up to make one fit.

Yeah, the Duralast shows $135 right now in Richmond, CA... I'd wager heavily that it IS a Delco. The case looks identical, and like the Delco I bought in May for $109, it is also down to 840 CCA.

On the plus side, they have a GREAT website, beats the hell outa' CSK. Ideal for people who don't even know where their battery is...
If they had the vent-kit with it, it would be perfect!

Hometown Hero wrote:

Eldo wrote:

Now if you'll excuse me, I just got a package from ZZP...

MERRY XMAS ELDO! Hope Jolly ole Saint ZZP was good to ya.

Why, thank you Klix... Zooomer Claus was very good!

They've got MPS pulleys on sale for $42 right now, so I ordered a 3.5" early Tuesday morning and it got to California by Thursday afternoon... Gotta' love that modular hub - it was hell the first time around with the flaws that they had in their pulley-puller-presser, but today it only took 10 minutes to switch out the 3.6, even though I still use the original vent-bolt as well as the allen-screws...

This looks like "it". I spent 2 hours road-testing it today with the scanner hooked up, and it runs Grrrrrreat!! It really feels like a torquey V8 now, and I'm finally happy with my "bottom of 2nd gear" acceleration... I kinda' wish I hadn't been "prudent" and used a 3.6 to begin with, but at least until summer gets here for full testing, I'm glad I didn't overshoot to a 3.4 this time. The car now feels like a modern version of my '73 Grand Am - with a LOT better mileage!

Amazing how much difference that .1" of diameter makes, isn't it?

AA wrote:

Amazing how much difference that .1" of diameter makes, isn't it?

TELL me about it! And that 400 cube Grand Am only got 15MPG on the highway!!

I just said the same thing in a PM - After the initial drop from 3.8 to 3.6, I can't believe what a difference one more tenth made. Now if I could just get it all to the ground for those 0-60 tests... Whether I feather the throttle myself, or let the Traction Control do it, I just can't get below about 7.5 seconds to 60. I gotta' be losing at least a 1/2-second to that inescapable "FWD traction"...

And you know what, except perhaps for the cold-supercharger-growl in the morning, GM could've sold the car exactly the way I've got it set up now, and no one would've known the difference!

Quote :

Now if I could just get it all to the ground for those 0-60 tests... Whether I feather the throttle myself, or let the Traction Control do it, I just can't get below about 7.5 seconds to 60.

This is why a SC pulley drop can only buy you so much - it's all low-end torque - hard to deal with considering we already have a mountain of it.

Now it's time for high-lift rockers to shift that torque curve, so you can pull harder above 4k RPM, rather than only below it. There's nothing quite like the feeling of clowing a launch, only to catch up and pass your competitor around 60 mph.

Eldo wrote:

Yeah, the Duralast shows $135 right now in Richmond, CA... I'd wager heavily that it IS a Delco. The case looks identical, and like the Delco I bought in May for $109, it is also down to 840 CCA.

On the plus side, they have a GREAT website, beats the hell outa' CSK. Ideal for people who don't even know where their battery is...
If they had the vent-kit with it, it would be perfect!

I believe the battery is made by the same company that makes Die Hard, Duralast, and a lot of OEM batteries, so it's possible.

I asked and they do not include a vent kit with the duralast for some odd reason. The guy at the store said they used to but none of the recent shipments have them. I asked if I could get some tubing and he gave me some free of charge. I just made my own vent kit. Just some rubber hoses, a T connector, and a nice grommet to go through the vent hole. I went redneck on it and superglued the hoses to the battery, just in case. Seems to work great though.

Update: while it's true my 12 year-old OEM battery is showing its age, I had forgotten about one small thing: having my scan tool hooked up at all times. I used to do this out of convenience, and didn't even think about its current drain on the battery, especially on very cold mornings and prolonged periods of sitting. Last Wednesday I disconnected the cable from the OBDII plug, and parked the car until this morning - she started right up without any hesitating. This seems to prove that the cable (with LED) does draw a little current, and it shows my battery still has some significant life left. The Optima will sit on the shelf a few more months.

The following was pulled from the AC Delco Battery site:

How do I read the warranty date code on my battery?


The warranty date code is located on the top label of the battery.
The first character is either a P or S. The next two digits determine
the month, the third digit is year and the fourth digit indicates the
manufacturing plant. For example, P 098N means the battery was made in
September 2008.

Does anyone know the dimensions of the original battery? My replacement is obviously smaller and now the venting tubing won't fit!?!

I replaced my battery about 5 months ago with the AC Delco replacement. I had no problems. The vents fit fine. In this thread,

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/care-maintenance-f8/good-battery-replacement-t321-60.htm?highlight=battery

Eldo (post5) had to shorten up the vent hoses to fit.

Thanks for that Larry. So your original venting system fit your replacement battery perfectly? Was yours a 79-6yr 840 CCA or 880 CCA? I am wondering if the 840's are smaller and thats why the venting needs to be modified.

BMD wrote:

Thanks for that Larry. So your original venting system fit your replacement battery perfectly? Was yours a 79-6yr 840 CCA or 880 CCA? I am wondering if the 840's are smaller and thats why the venting needs to be modified.

Not sure. I have the old battery in my garage. I'll measure it tomorrow and post the dimensions.

OK, I got curious and went out to the garage and looked. The Battery I replaced was a Delco Freedom Battery, 79-84, 880 CCA, Catalog # 402. It measured 12" long, 7" wide, and about 7 1/4" high. The battery I replaced it with was GM part # 19001845. It was the same size as my old battery, and the vent tubes hooked up with no problem whatsoever.

Thanks soooo much man, tommorrow, I'm gonna head back over to the AC Delco guys and see if they have your battery in stock?

ohh yes Larry is right you need 880 (880 cold-cranking amps) not 840.

BMD wrote:

Thanks soooo much man, tommorrow, I'm gonna head back over to the AC Delco guys and see if they have your battery in stock?

The GM dealers should have a venting system that fits the smaller battery, but you and the dealer will have to figure out what car has it in order to find it in their parts system. That said - the larger (group 79) batteries are still findable other places though. Probably least expensive way to get one is from your local Interstate Battery distributor store. In the phone book or on http://corporate.interstatebatteries.com/www/distributors/canada_distributors.asp Reason I point that out is when I shopped for batteries for another car a few weeks ago, they had the best value available - I needed a high-capacity Group 78 for a different car. Other places had Group 78 batteries but they were all lower capacity, for about the same money as the low-capacity Group 78 battery from AutoZone I was able to get the high-capacity one for cash directly from the Interstate distributor. The local Interstate distributor also sells "Blem" batteries, but you will have to ask what that entails. For a Group 79 battery the Blem may save you good $$ as long as it is the right capacity.

Your ACDelco parts dealer may not know that the venting is critical for the Riv. If the vent's not connected, the acid fumes will eat a hole in the floor of the car in short order (months). The AC Delco parts dealer should be able to get you p/n 25720111, which is the venting system that will fit the new battery. They really should provide (give or sell) you the matching vent gizmo. That said, I bet the vent you have can be modified to fit if you can get the tubes apart at the elbows and shorten/reattach them or cut them shorter to fit and splice them back together with heat shrink tubing if for some reason they can't get the 25720111 for you.

Bottom line (for me) is that an Interstate distributor most likely still has the larger size/capacity battery. A GM car dealer may as well but of course will charge more. They may even be reselling the Interstate batteries at retail if no longer available as Delco Professional replacements (the one near me does).

If I was you I'd consider either getting the Delco place to provide the vent system 25720111 or phoning around to find the larger capacity battery, and if available then get it, then simply return the Delco for a refund.

Albertj

BMD wrote:

Does anyone know the dimensions of the original battery? My replacement is obviously smaller and now the venting tubing won't fit!?!

'
Somewhere on here I have photos, but all you have to do is trim the [oops] BLACK pipes with a pair of dikes or razor blade to make it work...

i replaced my stock battery with a red tp optima. all i had to do was splice in a longer positive cable.

albertj wrote:

If I was you I'd consider either getting the Delco place to provide the vent system 25720111 or phoning around to find the larger capacity battery, and if available then get it, then simply return the Delco for a refund.

Albertj

First off thank you veeeery much Larry and Albert, your info was very helpful today.

No one up here has the higher capacity/880CCA AC Delco battery, so I decide that based on the longevity of my last AC Delco battery that I would keep the recommended group 79 840 CCA battery. I called GM and they said that the group 79 840 CCA must be used with the appopriate venting system, available seperately. I told the Delco guys about the mismatch between the venting system and the battery and they just said that the battery they sold me was the only one that was recommended for my car, they didn't know about a seperate venting system. Then I asked them if there was seperate venting system with the partnumber that Albert provided and they said that they could order it for me, so I did. I now have only two questions... why would they make a replacement battery that doesn't utilize the OEM venting system and why don't they sell the new venting system with the battery! Its taken me three days to get a damn battery in my car.

...once again, the Delco guys should know better but probably just don't. And your Delco parts counterperson may simply have been inexperienced - I looked up the P/N for you on the ACDelco web site, it did not take long at all.

I replaced my battery a while back (2007), the vent I have is PN 25678809. my local dealer provided the vent and grommet when I bought battery in case there was a fitment problem or any damage to the old vent. If you don't vent the thing through the tubes, acid fumes not only eat a hole in the car floor but also eat away at the rear seat belts. It's just not a good scene without that vent... I think the other thing that happened was because of what I learned on this site, I pulled the rear seat each spring to inspect the battery, clean the terminals and see if the hygrometer was still "green." After doing that a few eyars I was starting to think I was wasting my time. So after my battery reached 6 years old I asked the dealer to load test it at each annual inspection. It tested acceptable for several years after the warranty period and I replaced it when the CCAs finally fell below the car's requirements (which are I think 20-30% less than the battery's rated CCA capacity). That was 3 years ago, mid-summer. Battery was 9 years old, adn I was having no problems. Since I did not need a battery right then, dealer's parts counterperson set one aside for me and ordered the vent from the factory; when the vent arrived I picked 'em both up and put 'em in, returned the old battery.

So I don't have the smaller battery.

The smaller battery IMHO just gives you fewer surplus CCAs, and since it has less capacity probably won't run as long past the warranty period as the original.

For the rest of you, here are details:

The vent tube (it's just a tube) for the original battery for the 95-96 Riv is PN 25678807 and includes the positive battery terminal clip.

For the 97-8 the vent assembly (it's now a rectangular contraption around the battery top with a downward drain pipe) is PN 25678807 for 97 and PN 25678809 for 98.

For the 99 there were 2 designs and 3 numbers. 1st design was 25678809 (I presume the early 99s) and for the 2nd design there is a note, "see 25690084." I really don't know what was up with 25690084; the parts fiche lists the 2nd design PN as 25720111, which is the current vent assembly (for the shorter battery), and monsterpartsonline shows 25690084 was superseded by 25720111.

Now, I'm not a GM nor an ACDelco counterperson - but what I think is going on here is that the different vent tube assemblies depend on which Group 79 battery you're putting in your Riv. I am certain that for the batteries Delco is now supplying the PN is 25720111 for the vent - it's on the parts fiche and the delco site. As for why the different battery - they probably figured out a smaller battery wold work, and AFAIK there is no requirement for GM to provide parts for any given model past ~10 years. This new group 79 battery probably fits some other car and can be made to work in the Riv application.

Albertj

Thanks for all the research and info Albert.
I still need to pull up my rear seat and do an inspection.
I'm usually very anal about preventive maintenance, but there is something about this battery being out of sight and out of mind.
This was a good reminder and I have no excuse because the weather has been reasonably good here.
This weekend is lawn and car maintenance weekend.
My lawnmower battery gets more attention than the car battery.

Check this out, about a quarter the way down...

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/care-maintenance-f8/good-battery-replacement-t321-60.htm?highlight=battery

i am currently using BOSCH (880 cca) with no problem .

Eldo wrote:

Check this out, about a quarter the way down...

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/care-maintenance-f8/good-battery-replacement-t321-60.htm?highlight=battery

Actually Mark, Larry already posted a link to this thread and your mod is encouraging, cause if the venting system I ordered still doesn't fit my battery, I will be duplicating it.

Eldo wrote:

Check this out, about a quarter the way down...

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/care-maintenance-f8/good-battery-replacement-t321-60.htm?highlight=battery

nice writeup on modifying the vent gizmo

Albertj
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